Document Templates, Stationery and Merge Fields

Templates can be set up for your practice to ensure that Word, Excel and PowerPoint documents are always presented with the format and layout required.

Stationery can be set up for Word documents to add your company logo, headers, footers, date, reference number, etc. and also the sign-off, and sender details.

Merge Fields can be included in Templates and Stationery to bring in content, such as the Author Name, Author Phone, the Author Role of the Author, the FYI unique Reference Number as well as Client information from Xero Practice Manager such as the client's First Name and Last Name of the addressee.

• When creating a Word document in FYI, you can select both a Stationery and a Template.
  Merge Fields can be included in both Stationery and Templates for Word.
  
  
• When creating Excel spreadsheets in FYI, you can select a Template.
  Merge Fields can be included in Excel Templates.
  
  
• When creating a PowerPoint Presentation or a PDF in FYI, you can select a Template.

Templates and Stationery can only be set up and maintained by an FYI administrator, or a user in a User Group that has Permissions enabled for Templates. Refer to the section Templates and Stationery and also to Managing User Groups.

Document Templates

Templates hold the standard text, any images, font and formatting settings for the body of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and PDF documents that will be brought into a document when it is created in FYI.

• When creating a Word document in FYI this would commonly be the text included in the middle of the letter, for example, for an engagement letter or notice of tax assessment.
• For an Excel spreadsheet this could hold any images, text, pre-set formatting or formulas, for example, a checklist that you send to your clients.
• For a PowerPoint Presentation, this could be the standard layout you use for your logo and fonts.
• For a PDF document, this can hold images, text and editable fields. When creating PDF documents in FYI, a Template must be selected. 

For information on setting up document Templates, refer to the section Templates and Stationery.

Practice Stationery

When creating a Word document in FYI as well as a Template, you can select a Stationery.  Stationery holds the information that is used in documents such as letters and add any headers, footers, date, addressee, address, reference number, etc. and also the sign-off, and sender details.

You may have more than one format for Word Stationery set up for your practice, for example:

• A format where the letterhead includes the header and footer with the company logo, company address etc. so these are added for a letter that is emailed.
• A format that that does not include the company logo, company address etc. so it is ready to be printed on pre-printed stationery for a letter that is printed and sent out.

For information on setting up Word Stationery, refer to Creating Stationery for Word.

Merge Fields

Merge Fields can be incorporated within Word and Excel Templates and Word Stationery. Merge Fields are used to bring in content from Xero Practice Manager for the Client, such as the client's Name and Address, and for Staff such as the Author Name and Author Phone.

Merge Fields can also be used to bring in information from FYI such as the Author Role in the user's profile and the FYI unique Reference Number.

Including Salutations and Sign Offs

When setting up Stationery and Templates, it is important to decide where to add any text and Merge Fields such as the salutation (such as "Dear" or "Hi" and a Merge Field for the client name) and the sign off (such as "Yours sincerely" or "Hi" and a Merge Field for the author). If these have also been included in both your Stationery and Templates, it will include these twice when both the Stationery and a Template are used to create a document. It is important that this is set up consistently for all your Stationery and Templates.

Template, Stationery and Merge Field Examples

The following examples show how Templates, Stationery and Merge Fields work together in a letter created from a Word document.

Example of a Word Document with only a Template Selected

The following is an example of a Word document where only a Template has been selected. This has been set up to hold the body of the relevant text.

The internal FYI reference number has also been included in the document. In this example, the template is set up so that the additional information can be entered.

Example of a Word Document with only the Stationery Selected

In this example, only the Stationery has been selected. This Stationery has been set up to include the company logo and the letter footer. It also adds the date. Merge Fields have been used to include the client's name and address details, as well as the author's Name, Role and Qualifications held in FYI, and the author's direct phone number.

Example of a Word Document with a Template and a Stationery Selected

The following is an example of a Word document where both Stationery and a Template has been selected.

Creating a Document from a Template and/or Stationery

There are two ways to create a document that uses a Template.

• Create the document from FYI and select the template required from the Template drop-down in the drawer. For Word, select the Stationery if required, Stationery drop-down in the drawer.
  or
• Display the Knowledge - Templates tab, highlight the required Template in the list and click Create. If this is a Word Template, you then select a Stationery from the drawer.

Refer to Creating Documents from Templates and Stationery.